Recommendations

Use the online form for book recommendations or e-mail Library staff. Please bear in mind that the Library caters mainly for Part I Tripos studies and cannot cover all the needs of Part II or Postgraduate courses. Recommendations become requests if you indicate that you yourself wish to use a book which you think should be in our stock.

If you wish to recommend an electronic book for purchase, please start by consulting your department's librarian.

Holds and recalls

Items already in stock, but not on the shelf, can be held (the item will be put aside for you when it is returned) or recalled (the item's loan period will be shortened, and the user who has it will have to bring it back earlier than they expected).

Please note that if you are reluctant to hold or recall a book, we cannot give you the name of the person who has it, even if you strongly suspect that you already know. What we can do is to advise them that you are interested in seeing or sharing the book, and leave it up to them to reveal themselves by contacting you, if they wish. If you are a member of Sidney Sussex, you will find a web form for transferring borrowing from one user to another on the Library section of Sidnet, should you and the other user agree to do that.

Inter-Library Loans - the final safety net

If the thing you need is not in stock here, not in stock elsewhere in Cambridge, and not available for us to buy, you still need not despair. The UL can probably help with an Inter-Library Loan. A similar service may also be available via your department's library - it would certainly be worth checking.